QCD sum rules and applications to nuclear physics

Applications of QCD sum-rule methods to the physics of nuclei are reviewed, with an emphasis on calculations of baryon self-energies in infinite nuclear matter. The sum-rule approach relates spectral properties of hadrons propagating in the finite-density medium, such as optical potentials for quasinucleons, to matrix elements of QCD composite operators (condensates). The vacuum formalism for QCD sum rules is generalized to finite density, and the strategy and implementation of the approach is discussed. Predictions for baryon self-energies are compared to those suggested by relativistic nuclear physics phenomenology. Sum rules for vector mesons in dense nuclear matter are also considered.